Greater London Fund for the Blind: Christmas card and thank-you card tests

by SOFII

Some people were so pleased with their thank-you cards that they rang GLFB to say so. SOFII is sure that when the next batch of mailings land on their doormats the one from GLFB will spark off a fond memory and, therefore, picked up first.

Rhode Island Foundation: why less can be more with the annual report, particularly when it comes to legacies

by SOFII

To send or not to send? If you ask your donors if they want to receive your annual report, why do you think they don’t reply? It could be inertia, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’. Maybe they think they'll be saving you time and money, they’re nice, considerate people after all. By the same token intertia will stop them going to your website to view your report online – and you will never know. If you send a printed copy, you know they have it and might they not be more likely to look at it, if it’s there in their hands? The stories here from Tom Ahern and the Rhode Island Foundatio show the power of the printed word.

Send a Cow: thank-you drive

by SOFII

The team at Send a Cow are passionate about saying thank you to their supporters.

Culver Academies: by example campaign

by SOFII

It’s not often SOFII gets to showcase an alumni fundraising campaign and this one is an absolute cracker. This campaign managed to exceed their (already ambitious) target, not once but twice.

WaterAid’s plastic bag mailing

by SOFII

Every day in developing countries thousands of women (mainly) face the difficult task of fetching and carrying water from its source to their homes. It’s a gruelling daily duty most donors would find very hard to imagine. Could this concept be applied imaginatively to a fundraising appeal? Of course it could!

Why your charity (still) needs better thank-you letters

by Lisa Sargent

So you’ve heard that, thanks to Lee Saunders, SOFII will champion the renaissance of the charity thank-you letter. Renaissance, you say? A lofty word, that, for the humble thank-you letter. 

But if you aim to raise money for good causes, the thank-you letter is still among your mightiest tools.

The Obama effect

by Jonathon Grapsas

Six lessons from President Obama’s fundraising team to help fuel growth in your organisation.

The donor pyramid is dead… Long live the donor pyramid!

by SOFII

Sarah Clifton shares her thoughts and asks: What exactly is the purpose of the donor pyramid if not to map the upgrade journey to a major gift?

FREE: ten years of fundraising experience!

by SOFII

Everything that Reinier Spruit has learnt in his his first ten years of fundraising and all in one handy read.

British Red Cross: the £7.7 billion appeal that changed British fundraising forever

by SOFII

The Duke of Gloucester’s Red Cross and St John Appeal Fund is the largest charitable fund in the history of British fundraising, raising the equivalent of £7.7 billion. This monumental exhibit should be read by all.

Centrepoint ‘sponsor a room’: donor acquisition

by SOFII

This exhibit is proof that traditional direct response fundraising can still work in the current fundraising climate. It demonstrates simple yet effective press advertising combined with a clever use of digital technology.

Farm Africa: a thank-you letter and gift

by SOFII

This is just a very nice thank-you letter that is easy to copy, though perhaps it would be best not to do so directly, but rather to adapt the idea behind it in a way that’s distinctive, individual and personal to your cause.